LIHU‘E — Mike Wirkala, Macy’s West chief financial officer, was thrilled to be on Kaua‘i Friday. He was witness to the presentation of a $2,000 check from Macy’s Kukui Grove Center General Manager Debbie Chuckas to the Kauai Food Bank’s
LIHU‘E — Mike Wirkala, Macy’s West chief financial officer, was thrilled to be on Kaua‘i Friday.
He was witness to the presentation of a $2,000 check from Macy’s Kukui Grove Center General Manager Debbie Chuckas to the Kauai Food Bank’s Helen Juliano and Kelvin Moniz.
“We won the money, and elected to give it to the food bank,” Chuckas said. “It’s some loose change for them.”
Wirkala, who works out of the San Francisco office, explained that Macy’s Kaua‘i finished second in their annual pre-summer Bag Hunger food drive, which he leads.
Headed up by Rowena Quisano, Macy’s Cosmetics Department manager here, the Macy’s Kaua‘i employees finished the Bag Hunger food drive second over 130 stores in the region.
Totally, the Macy’s Kaua‘i employees accumulated 19,406 pounds of food, that number exceeding their previous-year’s performance by 518.3 percent, Wirkala pointed out.
“Each employee was expected to raise about 25 pounds of food,” Chuckas said. “But, when everything was totaled, they finished with 166 pounds per associate.”
In addition to the presentation to the food bank, Wirkala also bought lunch for the store’s employees, as well as their food bank guests of honor.
“I’ve always been impressed by the strong sense of family among the Kaua‘i store’s employees,” Wirkala said. “They are very generous when it comes to children who don’t get enough to eat, and I’m proud of them. It’s all about the employees.”
The Friday presentation is only one of the several examples of community out-pouring demonstrated by the Macy’s associates.
Earlier in July, Chuckas said Macy’s associates contributed $5,000 to officials at the YWCA domestic-abuse shelter, in a program again spearheaded by Quisano.
“She’s our community-events person,” Chuckas said. “She gets up in front of the employees every morning, and reminds them of the ongoing programs.”
Chuckas said that, with the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi, Macy’s leaders are launching a relief effort that will allow their customers and employees to help.
Starting this Monday, Sept. 5, Labor Day, Chuckas explained that, for every dollar contributed by customers and employees, Macy’s leaders will match the contribution, for hurricane-relief efforts.
She said leaders in the corporate office have launched the program by contributing an initial $500,000.
